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Austria will tighten its firearms law now, after the school shooting this week with 11 dead and 30+ injured. - Do you think this is a good idea ?

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  • Total voters
    21
You have very few restrictions when compared to Austria gun laws (or other European countries).
but we have hundreds and hundreds of laws - to say "without many restrictions" isn't accurate at all


It's therefore not false or misinformation. You can buy firearms at 18 in the US, not 21 like here (and soon 25).
we have age restrictions - yes

You don't need to pass a psychological test/evaluation like here
NICS checks criminal records and also reviews mental health records to determine if a potential buyer is prohibited from owning a firearm. We have restrictions yes

and police don't come to your house every 5 years to check if guns are stored away and locked away safely.
you're right and thank God we have a country that doesn't allow police to do that !! that's a positive, not a negative

now, talk about all the rest

AI Overview

It's difficult to pinpoint an exact number of gun laws in the United States due to the varying levels of legislation at the federal, state, and local levels. However, it is commonly cited that there are over 20,000 gun laws. These laws cover a wide range of topics, including background checks, permitting requirements, and restrictions on certain types of firearms
 
Article in the OP didnt say what the current laws are so I dont see how most people can have a real opinion on this more just a gut feeling kind of thing for them
 
Hi Tender Branson,

Thanks for that mate.


Just for the people from the US. Please take note of this. 1 Week after a mass shooting the government agrees to tighten gun control.

You see? It can be done!


Joey
You say that like its a good thing.
 
You say that like its a good thing.

Hi Mack,

Yep, absolutely!

I argue that I know and you don't know based on the fact that I have lived in a gun-free environment, and you have not. (I could be wrong, but I am guessing you have never lived outside of the US). So you can only claim that you like what you have and want to keep that. Without knowing what it would be like to live in a gun-free society. The pathetic part is of course that you do not even want to know what it is like to live in a gun free environment.


Joey
 
Different culture, different laws. If the citizens of these countries want either greater freedom or less freedom then it is up to them to make appropriate changes.

All I can say is that in the USA the right to keep and bear arms was so important to the Founders of our nation that they enshrined it as second only to the First Amendment's list of freedoms that the right to keep and bear arms serves to defend.
 
Hi Mack,

Yep, absolutely!

I argue that I know and you don't know based on the fact that I have lived in a gun-free environment, and you have not. (I could be wrong, but I am guessing you have never lived outside of the US). So you can only claim that you like what you have and want to keep that. Without knowing what it would be like to live in a gun-free society. The pathetic part is of course that you do not even want to know what it is like to live in a gun free environment.


Joey
To the contrary. I have lived in gun free environments all around the world. Here's what I know....

-Its stupid to try to compare countries. The populations are all radically different.
-In THIS country...if you remove the violence rates in the rat party run major cities and the shitholes they have created in the majority minority communities, our gun violence rates plummet. Violence has nothing to do with the presence of firearms and everything to do with poverty and desperation.
-Countries like England always had historically low crime rates...but not 'no' and those crime rates begin climbing as population becomes less homogenized and poverty levels in specific communities increase. Even in those countries, people find creative ways to kill each other.
-Suicide rates and murder rates remain constant before and after bans.

I'll go you one better I live in a community where gun ownership is PROLIFIC. Guess what we DONT have? We dont have gun violence problems. We don't tolerate criminal behavior. We don't justify and excuse it. In the rare occasion someone does **** up...and I mean rare...we want those assholes locked away. We don't cry over race or gender and we don't make excuses for their behavior and we don't blame inanimate objects. We don't WANT those pieces of shit back in our community.
 
To the contrary. I have lived in gun free environments all around the world. Here's what I know....

-Its stupid to try to compare countries. The populations are all radically different.
-In THIS country...if you remove the violence rates in the rat party run major cities and the shitholes they have created in the majority minority communities, our gun violence rates plummet. Violence has nothing to do with the presence of firearms and everything to do with poverty and desperation.
-Countries like England always had historically low crime rates...but not 'no' and those crime rates begin climbing as population becomes less homogenized and poverty levels in specific communities increase. Even in those countries, people find creative ways to kill each other.
-Suicide rates and murder rates remain constant before and after bans.

I'll go you one better I live in a community where gun ownership is PROLIFIC. Guess what we DONT have? We dont have gun violence problems. We don't tolerate criminal behavior. We don't justify and excuse it. In the rare occasion someone does **** up...and I mean rare...we want those assholes locked away. We don't cry over race or gender and we don't make excuses for their behavior and we don't blame inanimate objects. We don't WANT those pieces of shit back in our community.

Hi Mack,

Good that you have seen the world. Surprised at your conclusion, But than again, that's why we're here of course.

It's funny you mention the UK. When you said that I started digging. I fully understand why you do not like to compare countries. Here's the thing. The homicide rate is far from stable in the UK and has been dropping for many centuries now. And while the reliability of the numbers in the long past definitely leaves something to be desired, since these numbers are what was actually documented, it is also a fact that the true numbers were even worse of course. The older the numbers the worse it was. So what numbers we're talking about?

- In around 1,300 there were an estimated 20-40 homicides per 100,000 people per year.
- In around 1,500 the rate had declined to an estimated 20 homicides per 100,000 people per year.
- In around 1,700 the rate had further declined to about 5 homicides per 100,000 people per year.
- In around 1,900 the rate had reached about 1 homicides per 100,000 people per year.
- And today this number is as low as 0.1 homicides per 100,000 people per year.

So I understand why you do not want to compare countries. The US has a homicide rate that equals that of the UK several 100 years ago. Somewhere between 1,500 and 1,700. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: Ok, if you want to take into account the inaccuracy of the numbers, than we're still talking 1,700 - 1,750. That's still about 300 years ago. :ROFLMAO:

One could argue that you are merely a bunch of Neanderthals, which quite frankly is enough basis to disregard any comment coming from you on the subject. Lol.

But let me cut you some slack. It's true that some countries implemented restriction and an immediate change was not apparent. You even see a rise in some countries AFTER stricter regulations have been implemented. But that gives you a slightly distorted picture of course. One that suits your narrative, but is false. If Venezuela introduced stricter gun laws, it means nothing when it is not being enforced. But let me show you 2 examples inside your country.

- After the new permit-to-purchase law was introduced in Connecticut in 1995, gun homicide was reduced by 40%.

And quite the opposite happened when in Missouri...

- When Missouri repealed the permit-to-purchase law in 2007, the homicide rate in Missouri increased by 25%.

So just for you, I am not comparing with other countries, but I am comparing with solid data from both rural areas and urban areas in your own home country? What is wrong with these numbers and how do they not support stricter gun legislation?


Joey
 
I also think that police should be able to enter your house to check if all your firearms/ammo is stored away safely - every year.

Currently, the police is only coming every 5 years here in Austria to gun owners, to check if firearms/ammo is stored away safely in a locked room or safe.


This part in particular seems insane to me as an American. Being forced to let police invade your home every year just to check if your gun is stored safely? I can't imagine Americans, even most liberal ones, agreeing to that.

That said, I'm not Austrian and I have no dog in this fight. I wouldn't personally support any of the proposed restrictions you're talking about, but they aren't going to affect me so whatever.
 
This part in particular seems insane to me as an American. Being forced to let police invade your home every year just to check if your gun is stored safely? I can't imagine Americans, even most liberal ones, agreeing to that.

That said, I'm not Austrian and I have no dog in this fight. I wouldn't personally support any of the proposed restrictions you're talking about, but they aren't going to affect me so whatever.

Well, maybe.

But unlike in the US, we Austrian citizens don't see the police as some kind of evil occupation force that should never enter someone's home whatsoever, but rather as your friend and helper in need. 90% of Austrians have a favourable impression of the police. So, we don't have any problems allowing them into our house. Obviously, this never happens anyway. Police only check every 5 years if the guns are stored away safely and for other citizens, they never come into their house unless there is a suspected crime in that house. In most smaller towns, you even know the police officers from the community, because in small Austrian towns under 5000 people, everyone knows everyone somehow.

Also, firearms are dangerous things ... especially if they are not stored away properly in a locked room or safe with PIN-code. Especially if children are in the house. That's why police must control every few years, if they are stored away safely and unavailable for kids. I am not aware that in Austria, a kid has shot himself or others at home with a gun, but there are thousands of such cases in the US, where guns are not checked for proper storage by police.
 
What's on the table?

Austria's laws are already quite tight. Mass shootings are rare. Did lax rules contribute, or did one just fall through the cracks?
 
What's on the table?

Austria's laws are already quite tight. Mass shootings are rare. Did lax rules contribute, or did one just fall through the cracks?

All of this is correct. Our gun rules have been quite tight, but not as strict as in other European countries - and gun crime is extremely rare.

Gun laws were tightened in 1997 already, because of a rampage back then, in which a villager killed 5 with a gun.

Since then, and since this tightening in the gun laws in 1997, gun homicides and gun suicides dropped significantly as a result. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, Austria had one of the highest gun suicide rates in the world, and since then it dropped by 90%. Gun homicides were also really high in the 1970s and 1980s for western standards, but nothing like in the US. About 30-40% of annual murders were by firearm, but only 10% in the last few years. Canada for example has the 30-40% rate right now, while in the US about 80% of annual murders are by firearm.

So, there was a clear reduction of gun suicides and homicides after the gun law was first tightened in 1997 and there's also a study about it by the Medical University Vienna:

Stricter firearm legislation lowers murder and suicide rates​


MedUni Vienna study highlights a correlation


 
It will be seen if the new firearm law restrictions this year will lower overall homicides and gun homicides in particular even further.

But considering that there are 50-100 murders per year in Austria, with 10% being gun murders (= ca. 5-10 per year), it could be hard to find any statistical conclusions.

The number of gun murders won't drop to zero because of the new restrictions, but maybe 5 murders per year can be avoided as a result of the new law, which are 50 lives saved in 10 years.

I guess this is worth it.
 
I am not really familiar what the gun laws in other European countries are, but our media says that they are stricter.

While I totally oppose a ban on private firearms ownership, I support quite a bit of closing loopholes that now emerged and other improvements (see above).

Maybe this will save many lives in the future that would otherwise have been lost without these coming reforms.
This says it all -
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin
 
This says it all -
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin did not eat all the wisdom with a spoon, so his words are not always meaningful.

We are not giving up "essential liberty", we are merely trying to find a balance between allowing citizens to own firearms, with the lowest possible amount of firearm deaths (homicide & suicide). It seems to work. In the US, there may be vast liberties when it comes to guns, but at a heavy price: 40.000 lives lost to gun homicide and suicide each year (a figure that would only be 4.000 per year, if the US had our firearm laws).

Liberty doesn't mean the ability to own many guns and butcher someone, just because you can. There have to be limits and restrictions and the European laws are good in this context.
 
Benjamin Franklin did not eat all the wisdom with a spoon, so his words are not always meaningful.

We are not giving up "essential liberty", we are merely trying to find a balance between allowing citizens to own firearms, with the lowest possible amount of firearm deaths (homicide & suicide). It seems to work. In the US, there may be vast liberties when it comes to guns, but at a heavy price: 40.000 lives lost to gun homicide and suicide each year (a figure that would only be 4.000 per year, if the US had our firearm laws).

Liberty doesn't mean the ability to own many guns and butcher someone, just because you can. There have to be limits and restrictions and the European laws are good in this context.
Ho hum.
You children can continue to live under the thumb of your governments
I’ll continue to relish freedom.
 
Ho hum.
You children can continue to live under the thumb of your governments
I’ll continue to relish freedom.

A) we are not children.

B) we don't "live under the thumb of our governments. We elect our governments and if they don't behave, we elect other governments. We are not Russia or China.

C) freedom is good, but complete freedom without some rules leads to crazy excesses. See above. The US has lax gun laws, but a high death toll as a result. I favour the European way. It's more balanced and has less extremes.
 
Hi Tender Branson,

Thanks for that mate.


Just for the people from the US. Please take note of this. 1 Week after a mass shooting the government agrees to tighten gun control.

You see? It can be done!


Joey
Eh! the US has tighten gun control laws for years and it has made little difference. And I have a feeling it won't make little difference in other countries beside a false sense of safety.
 
Eh! the US has tighten gun control laws for years and it has made little difference. And I have a feeling it won't make little difference in other countries beside a false sense of safety.

Hi antiquity,

Only time can tell, but the odds are against you. Statistics have a tendency to speak loudly.

Joey
 
Despite the new restrictions on firearms, the Austrian gun law remains like a Swiss cheese: with many holes.

Translated from German to English:

After the Massacre - No Tightening After All ? Gun Laws Remain Full of Holes
June 19, 2025

The three-party coalition has announced a tightening of gun laws – but because they don't want to hurt anyone, the new regulations also remain full of holes. Purchasing guns will, at best, be a little more complicated after the decision – but the fact that private individuals can still buy weapons without hindrance will change little. Nevertheless, gun dealers report that the announcement of the tightening alone has led to a run on rifles, pistols, and revolvers.

But here are the changes in detail:

The minimum age for purchasing particularly dangerous firearms will be raised from 21 to 25, primarily for Category B and C firearms, i.e., pistols, revolvers, and long guns. However, by purchasing a new "weapon license," even younger people will be able to obtain shotguns, for example, like those used in the massacre. Psychological tests are to be tightened – and gun licenses are to be issued for only eight years. However, nothing will change for those who already have a gun license or even a gun permit – that's around 360,000 people. And the conditions under which gun permits will be extended are completely unclear, including whether, for example, a new "psychological test" is required or not. Cooling-off period: In general, firearms will in future always be allowed to be sold after a four-week cooling-off period and only by licensed gun dealers. But even with that, access to dangerous long guns such as shotguns will remain completely unrestricted. Gun bans are to be expanded; they could be imposed in cases of domestic violence or "serious criminal records." The fact that a gun ban – as experts are demanding – must be imposed after failing a psychological test is missing from the government's proposal. At least those who "fail" at the Armed Forces Recruitment Commission will in future be reported to the weapons authorities. Here, there is supposed to be the "possibility of a weapons ban of up to ten years in the event of irregularities." However, there is no mention of an obligation to impose a weapons ban here either.

 
As you can see, even under the new firearm law restrictions, nobody will get a "lifetime ban" on firearm licenses and firearm ownership.

The harshest penalty is a 10-year ban for such licenses and ownership.

Even if you fail psychological tests or have crimes like domestic violence ...

Even in the US, penalties are stricter than that for example if you steal a few items at Walmart, you get a lifetime ban.

So, our gun restrictions are not as severe as people think ... even after that brutal school massacre.

I mean, I am actually in favour that someone who fails psychological tests or has domestic violence crimes, should be banned for life from getting a firearm !

If you are a domestic violencer against your wife for example, your toys (= guns) all need to be confiscated and you need to get a lifetime ban ! You simply don't do that. Otherwise, perpetrators won't get it. This way, they might learn from their mistakes ... if their toys get taken away from them for life.
 
Well, maybe.

But unlike in the US, we Austrian citizens don't see the police as some kind of evil occupation force that should never enter someone's home whatsoever, but rather as your friend and helper in need. 90% of Austrians have a favourable impression of the police. So, we don't have any problems allowing them into our house. Obviously, this never happens anyway. Police only check every 5 years if the guns are stored away safely and for other citizens, they never come into their house unless there is a suspected crime in that house. In most smaller towns, you even know the police officers from the community, because in small Austrian towns under 5000 people, everyone knows everyone somehow.

I think even in times where Americans had more favorable opinions of the police this sort of thing wouldn't be tolerated. The 4th amendment makes it illegal in any case.

Also, firearms are dangerous things ... especially if they are not stored away properly in a locked room or safe with PIN-code. Especially if children are in the house. That's why police must control every few years, if they are stored away safely and unavailable for kids. I am not aware that in Austria, a kid has shot himself or others at home with a gun, but there are thousands of such cases in the US, where guns are not checked for proper storage by police.

I agree that firearms are dangerous and should be properly stored. What I disagree with is that police should be allowed to regularly search your property to verify that you are in compliance with the law without any suspicion of wrongdoing or a warrant.
 
A) we are not children.

B) we don't "live under the thumb of our governments. We elect our governments and if they don't behave, we elect other governments. We are not Russia or China.

C) freedom is good, but complete freedom without some rules leads to crazy excesses. See above. The US has lax gun laws, but a high death toll as a result. I favour the European way. It's more balanced and has less extremes.
Typical response from those without freedom.
Don’t waste my time again.
 
I read that licensing for weapons are easily acquired?
Is there truth to that?
 
It will be seen if the new firearm law restrictions this year will lower overall homicides and gun homicides in particular even further.

But considering that there are 50-100 murders per year in Austria, with 10% being gun murders (= ca. 5-10 per year), it could be hard to find any statistical conclusions.

The number of gun murders won't drop to zero because of the new restrictions, but maybe 5 murders per year can be avoided as a result of the new law, which are 50 lives saved in 10 years.

I guess this is worth it.
With numbers that small, you will never know. This just places more power in the hands of the government. The government, btw, which keeps importing those immigrants that are changing your country.

“Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. “ - Benjamin Franklin
 
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